July 16, 2015
News
Army shoots down Indian ‘spy drone’
*ISPR says drone which intruded into Pakistan along LoC near Bhimber is used for aerial photography * Indian HC summoned to lodge protest over violation of air space
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani military said it shot down an Indian spy drone on Wednesday in Azad Kashmir, in a new sign of the decades-old tension between the nuclear-armed rivals in the region.
Industry experts said the small, unarmed model was sold commercially for aerial filming and would contain no secret military technology. “An Indian spy drone was shot down by Pakistani troops which intruded into Pakistan along (the Line of Control) near Bhimber today. The spy drone is used for aerial photography,” a statement from the military said. The Indian military was not available for comment. Bhimber is in Azad Kashmir.
A photo supplied by the Pakistan Army appeared to show a Chinese-made DJI Phantom 3, said Huw Williams, the Unmanned Systems Editor at IHS Jane’s International Defence Review. “Due to its limited operating range - about two km - if the Indian military is using the system it would most likely be for close reconnaissance or security work,” Williams said. “Our Middle East editor believes that Islamic State are using similar systems.”
Meanwhile, Islamabad has summoned the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan TCA Raghavan to lodge protest over intrusion of its airspace by the Indian spy drone. “The Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan has been summoned to the Foreign Office on Thursday,” Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said. In July, another drone had crashed near the Working Boundary in Shakargarh sector, which was taken into custody by Pakistani security forces. The drone was operated by Pakistan Rangers, it was later clarified.
Earlier in May, a pigeon which crossed the Indo-Pak border into India’s Pathankot area was captured and detained for being a “suspected spy”. A stamped message and a wire-like object on the “intruder”, which landed in Manwal village situated four kilometres from the Indo-Pak border, raised suspicions of the security agencies in India. The bird was taken to a veterinary doctor where it underwent an x-ray and medical examination.
This is not the first spy drone shot down in Pakistani territory originating out of India. In 2002, Pakistan Air Force shot down a spy drone near Kasur. Military officials claimed at the time that it was an Israeli operated drone flying out from Indian territory. Instances of unprovoked firing across the Indo-Pak border have also occurred frequently over the years. The latest such incident happened on Tuesday when Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing along Working Boundary.
These violations of Pakistan’s sovereignty come after a thaw in relations with India was observed after the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at Ufa. Since 2004, the United States has conducted 419 drone strikes in Pakistan, targeting suspected members of the Taliban and al Qaeda. The missiles have killed thousands of suspected militants and hundreds of civilians, according to media reports collated by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk